Follow the Prospects: James Wood, OF

[imref]

Stole his eighth. And Rosario is still here.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Stole his eighth. And Rosario is still here.

I'd say May Day sounds about right for the swap out, but I think Robles gets first pop at the Rosario replacement scenario.

[welch]

Robles played CF, pushing Wood to LF, 1-for-4 with an RBI, a walk, and no strikeouts.

[nobleisthyname]

Age: 21
Team rank: 2
Current level: AAA

March/April recap
Games played at position
CF: 12
LF: 7
RF: 4
DH: 2

PA

|

AVG

|

OBP

|

SLG

|

HR

|

SB

|

K%

|

BB%

|

ISO

|

OPS

|

wRC+

113

|

.326

|

.434

|

.484

|

2

|

8

|

21.2%

|

15.9%

|

.158

|

.918

|

144

[Natsinpwc]

He’s down to .882 OPS.  Would still be an improvement on Rosario.  Just 26 Ks on 26 games which is good.

[CoryTheFormerExposFan]

He’s hitting the ball as hard as just about anybody at the MLB level, and the K rate has been where you want to see it.  It’s time to see what he can do in The Show.  Super 2 manipulation is the only reason for a delay now.

[Slateman]

He’s hitting the ball as hard as just about anybody at the MLB level, and the K rate has been where you want to see it.  It’s time to see what he can do in The Show.  Super 2 manipulation is the only reason for a delay now.

.375 slugging over his last 10 games. .295 over his last 15.

No, he is not ready. Given that his OPS has dropped over 400 points in the last 2 weeks, I'd say he is right where he needs to be for at least the next month

[RD]

He had a run where he struck out 13 times in 35 AB's. He's followed that with 4 K's in last 26. Nice to see him adjust and bounce back.  I know that's part of the ups and downs of the season,  but limiting the K's and making adjustments is probably the key to him reaching his potential.

[imref]

3 more hits tonight.

[GataNats]

Get this guy up here.   Rosario still being on a good team is an embarrassment

[JCA-CrystalCity]

He had a run where he struck out 13 times in 35 AB's. He's followed that with 4 K's in last 26. Nice to see him adjust and bounce back.  I know that's part of the ups and downs of the season,  but limiting the K's and making adjustments is probably the key to him reaching his potential.

Yes.

It's just 8 games, but he's back on a heater. 36 PAs, 4 Ks is an 11 K%.  he's drawn 5 BBs, so it looks like swinging and contact producing a .387 average. No dingers and only 2 doubles over this stretch dating to 4/24 (10 days). Toss in 3 SBs.

I'd like to see the power with the low Ks before bumping him up. I'd think about it if Young is out for a while, but I think they activate Robles first.

[Slateman]

Get this guy up here.   Rosario still being on a good team is an embarrassment

Except Rosario isn't in a good team ....?

[Natsinpwc]

Except Rosario isn't in a good team ....?

Ok. Middling right now.

[IanRubbish]

Get this guy up here.   Rosario still being on a good team is an embarrassment

Whatever the team's record, it is an embarrassment.

Wood could OPS 1.500 but the Nats would still wait for the estimated Super 2 deadline before calling him up.  Hopefully they don't drag this out to the RoY deadline but wouldn't put it past them. 

[CoryTheFormerExposFan]

.375 slugging over his last 10 games. .295 over his last 15.

No, he is not ready. Given that his OPS has dropped over 400 points in the last 2 weeks, I'd say he is right where he needs to be for at least the next month

Every player has 10 game stretches where their numbers aren’t great.  Does he look at all overmatched?  The answer is no.  The K rate is more than fine for someone whose exit velocity’s are up there with the very best in MLB.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Every player has 10 game stretches where their numbers aren’t great.  Does he look at all overmatched?  The answer is no.  The K rate is more than fine for someone whose exit velocity’s are up there with the very best in MLB.

his K% drop coincided with the power drop, if we are slicing and dicing.

Wood could OPS 1.500 but the Nats would still wait for the estimated Super 2 deadline before calling him up.  Hopefully they don't drag this out to the RoY deadline but wouldn't put it past them. 

I don't think this team has ever managed the super 2 deadline on any significant player, other than possibly Strasburg. Certainly not JZ or Desmond or Espinosa, who were all well regarded before the team was a serious contender. Certainly not when playing for a playoff spot - Harper, Rendon, Soto . . .

Wood still has things to work on. I'd still like to see him get in about another 3 weeks or so in AAA. Another 70 PAs. That'll be 200 at AAA, about 1100 in his minor career, and 850 in the Nats system. Dude has only hit 2 HRs so far in Rochester. .140 ISO.

[IanRubbish]

Certainly not when playing for a playoff spot - Harper, Rendon, Soto . . .

They got into an unusually contentious arbitration battle with Harper. 

Wood has a .433 OBP and 8 steals, he's a perfect fit for this offense even with a sub .200 ISO.  But this is not a playoff season and they are clearly not interested in calling up Wood before the Super 2 deadline, regardless of how he plays.

[Slateman]

Every player has 10 game stretches where their numbers aren’t great.  Does he look at all overmatched?  The answer is no.  The K rate is more than fine for someone whose exit velocity’s are up there with the very best in MLB.

Except, when hos K rate drops, his exit velos drop. He hasnt even played 30 games yet. And over half of that he has a .295 slugging.

He's not ready and the Nats dont need to call him up. Let him develop and mature in the minors. We dont need another Jordan Walker situation.

[nobleisthyname]

I'm in favor of keeping him in AAA until his power returns. I'd honestly kinda prefer keeping his rookie eligibility status for next season intact if this is a non-playoff contending season anyway and he clearly has things to improve on still.

[Slateman]

They got into an unusually contentious arbitration battle with Harper. 

Wood has a .433 OBP and 8 steals, he's a perfect fit for this offense even with a sub .200 ISO.  But this is not a playoff season and they are clearly not interested in calling up Wood before the Super 2 deadline, regardless of how he plays.

Why is manipulating Super 2 status a bad thing? He's a Boras client. He isnt signing an extension. Boras will push for as much money as he can in arbitration. Reducing the number of times you have to do that is a perfectly good reason to keep Wood down when you aren't competing  for a playoff spot. Especially when you have no idea if your ownership is going to let you spend during the offseason.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Added a poll to the top for fun.

[IanRubbish]

Why is manipulating Super 2 status a bad thing? He's a Boras client. He isnt signing an extension.

Super 2 accelerates arbitration, not free agent eligibility. 

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Super 2 accelerates arbitration, not free agent eligibility. 

his second point is true. reducing the number of times going through arb reduces his total compensation prior to FA.

[IanRubbish]

reducing the number of times going through arb reduces his total compensation prior to FA.

Obviously, but his development should take priority over that, especially with the challenges this org has had there, and with no impact on team control.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Obviously, but his development should take priority over that, especially with the challenges this org has had there, and with no impact on team control.

really we are arguing about calling him up 2 days ago vs in a month or so for development purposes. nobody is seriously happy with holding him back to August, unless a big flaw shows up over the next month.